Yesterday I shared a quick and easy step by step guide to handle those moments when you realize you just wasted away an hour surfing the web and other online distractions.
But prevention is the best medicine. Preventing the temptation for online distractions before they start can help you maximize your time more than you ever have before!
How to Prevent Online Distractions
1. Start your day off right: Start your day offline. The days where I get the most done both online and offline are those days where I don’t start my morning glued to the computer.
Starting your day off right starts at the moment you wake up. I am not going to go into the specifics of the importance of a morning routine right now, but waking up refreshed, eating a nutritious breakfast of your choice and feeling in a positive mood and excited about your work are all things to help start your day off right.
When you start your day doing anything but sitting in front of the computer, you will not get yourself into that computer mindset. So make those phone calls, work on your to-do list, make your mind focused on the day, and not on the internet. Email can wait. Really.
2. Begin your time on the computer by working on computer work - not email or surfing. Going to your favorite web comic first thing in the morning may make you have a good chuckle, but it can also lead to further web surfing. Despite many people recommending the concept of avoiding email until later in the day, I know realistically that it is nearly impossible for some people. So fine. Check your email first thing. Then start your day off right.
When you get to the computer, start your day off right by making a list of tasks you need to complete on the computer. You may want to make two different lists, one list for things you have to do online, and one for things you have to do offline. You could also make a large action list based off of Mark Forester’s Autofocus System, and start working your list from items you are most motivated to do at that time.
3. Plan short breaks. When you have been working for hours, you will need a break to rest your eyes and reduce fatigue. I like to schedule in a few minutes about every hour to get myself away from the computer, and I close my eyes for a moment about every half hour.
4. Plan healthy distractions that are not online. It is easy to surf the web as a “break” from working, but this is where online distractions begin. They tempt you because it is on the computer, and there is no set time limit. Online distractions are like fast food - it seems easy and convenient, but there are healthy food choices that are just as fast too. You need to find your own healthy distractions that are offline. Here are some ideas:
- have a 5 minute conversation with a good friend. Tell them that you only have 5 minutes, and choose a friend that you know will cheer you up.
- Eat a snack - something light that won’t bog you down.
- Go for a quick 5-10 minute walk outside
- read one chapter from a favorite book
- look at a photo album
- stretching/yoga/pilates
- listen to musicIdeally these diversions should take from 5 to no more than 30 minutes. Any longer than 30 minutes and you could get distracted to keep doing the diversion rather than it being something to refresh you before you get back to work.
5. Dive into your work. This is a step that takes discipline. After you get back from your refreshing break, dive back into your work with intention just as a high diver jumps into the pool. When you have laser beam focus on what you need to do, the tasks get done faster.
6. Have a one hour blitz. Take one hour to try to get through as many things on your to-do list as possible. Clean up your inbox. Take out the trash. Clean out your car. File those papers away. When you get into “Blitz Mode” you will find that your energy will increase and you will get a second wind. You may even find that you feel invincible.
7. Second Wind of your work day. After your one hour Blitz, get back to your work and look at what you want to finish by the end of the day. This may be the most productive time of your day because you have already worked yourself into a working mindset. This is the time of the day to work on things that should be done on a daily basis. The end of your day is a good time to:
- Check your email
- Look at your calendar
- Work on your to-do list
- Filing
- Phone calls to the West Coast
- Write a blog post
- Work on goals
- Whatever feels good
8. Always end on a high note. I always like to end my work on a high note. I could be spending an entire day replying to emails, but at the end of the day I like to end with writing a blog post. At home I could be spending the day working on cleaning, but I like to end the day making a dinner that is quick, fulfilling and delicious. Find out what high note you can end on every day. If you finish on a high note consistently in your work, you will find that you look forward to the end of your day - not because the 5 o’clock bell is going to ring and you get to go home - but rather you know that you finish out your day doing something you truly enjoy.
9. Reward yourself for a job well done? Finished your work? Once you have put in your time and finished what you set out to accomplish, you can decide what you want to do next. NOW you have the choice to surf the web - if you want to.
You might find this fascinating: now that you’ve gotten your work done, you probably will not want to surf the web mindlessly because you have just started to train your mind to enjoy healthy distractions instead of your previous online distractions.
Is the Internet Distracting You 24 Hours a Day?
Is being online getting you distracted? Is just being near a wi-fi cafe’ setting your mind to a frenzy of obsession?
Sometimes if I am working on a specific project that does not need the internet, I will turn off my wi-fi connection until I have pushed through a rough draft of my work. Believe me it can be very hard to do at first, because the temptation of the internet may pulse inside your brain. If you get into the habit of turning the internet on and off, over time you will see a big jump in your productivity when you are on the computer working.
Step Away From the Web Crack
I have a list of websites that I will not allow myself to visit until I am done working for the day. No matter how exciting the websites are, I have to stay away. Boing Boing is one of those sites. Lifehacker is another.
By just staying away from those sites as much as possible, I am able to keep myself focused on my work, and not get sucked into a million links that give me a web rush of a high in the moment, but make me feel guilty after wards.
How do you handle online distractions? Let me know in the comments below.
~ Heidi